Ember's Origin
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: The story about how Ember came to Ponyland


* * *

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is one of my Short 'n Sweet stories. I hope you're not expecting a long one out of this. Also, I have "borrowed" Stork Number 6789 from the Classic Looney Tunes cartoons (this is not his official number, but you Looney Tunes Lovers will know him when you see him._

It was a beautiful day in Ponyland. Firefly and Medley were taking a flight. Glory and Moondancer were roller skating. Bubbles and Bowtie were washing their hair and tying ribbons in it. Applejack and Cotton Candy were picking, and eating, apples off Applejack's apple tree. Ember was cuddling with Twilight.

* * *

"I like snuggling with you, Twilight," Ember said.

"I like it, too," Twilight replied, giving Ember a nuzzle.

The two ponies were quiet for a minute, when Ember looked up at Twilight, with her big, blue eyes.

"Twilight, where did I come from?" she asked.

"Well," Twilight said. "It was a long time ago. But I remember it as if it were yesterday."

Twilight closed her eyes, and tried to remember that day Ember came into the little ponies' lives. The little ponies lived in Dream Castle at the time. Firefly and Medley were out flying, and the other little ponies were out playing.

Along the outskirts of Ponyland, there was an agency known as Stork Inc. Storks would take all kinds of babies and drop them off at their destinations. That day, a baby pony was to be delivered on the other side of Ponyland. Unfortunately, the stork that was delivering her always ended up taking a few swigs on his deliveries, since new fathers liked to toast their new babies. So he was a bit inebriated when he picked up the purple baby pony with pink hair, and a little blue bow tied to her pink tail. She was fast asleep.

"_Hic_!" the stork hiccupped as he put the bundle into his beak. "Okay, time to go. Hic! One perk about this job. _Hic_! Everyone's glad to see the stork. _Hic! Hic! Hic!_"

The stork took the bundle and flew off. As he was flying, it started to rain and thunder. Thunder crashed all around and lightning flashed. Amazingly, the little baby pony managed to sleep through the whole thing. Unfortunately, in the forest that was close to Dream Castle, a bolt of lightning hit the tree. It burst into flames, and some of the other trees caught on fire, too. One sizzled the stork's tail feathers.

"AWK!" he shouted, dropping the bundle out of his beak and onto the ground.

"Oooh," the stork said. "That was a hot one! _Hic_! Hmm. Now, what was I doing? Was I coming or was I going? Oh well. I'll go back and see if they know what I was doing. _Hic! Hic! Hic!_"

The stork flew off, hiccupping all the way. The bundle lay in the middle of the forest, and would probably be engulfed with flames in a matter of minutes. Luckily, Firefly and Medley saw the fire, and flew directly to Dream Castle, and got the other little ponies to start a fire brigade to stop the fire from spreading.

"Hey, what's that down there?" Medley asked.

"Looks like a basket of something," Firefly said. "Whatever's inside is about to be barbequed! I have to go get it!"

"But it's dangerous Firefly!"

"Danger is my life, Medley!"

Firefly performed her famous double inside out loop and dove down to the bundle. She picked it up and flew it back to Dream Castle, just as the rest of the little ponies got the fire under control. Then they all gathered around the basket Firefly had in her mouth.

"What's in there?" Glory asked.

"Maybe it's food!" Cotton Candy shouted, licking her lips.

"Is that all you ever think about?" Firefly asked, glaring at Cotton Candy. She put the basket down.

"There's only one way to find out what this is," Twilight said, and she began to remove the blankets from the basket. Inside, was a purple baby pony with pink hair, fast asleep. The other ponies looked completely shocked.

"It's a baby pony!" Applejack shouted.

"You can't eat a baby pony," Cotton Candy said, disappointed.

"Shh!" Medley hissed. "You'll wake her up!"

The little baby pony slowly opened her eyes, and yawned just then. She stretched, and looked directly at Twilight.

"Mama!" she squeaked.

"I'm not your mama, little one," Twilight said, with a gentle giggle. But the baby pony nuzzled up to Twilight, and rubbed herself against the pink unicorn's chest.

"Mama," she said, contently.

"Awwwwww!" the other ponies said, smiling.

"Oh, she's so cute!" Cotton Candy said. "Yes she is! You're the cutest little baby pony ever. Yes you are! Yes you are!"

"Please, I just ate," Applejack said.

Cotton Candy nuzzled the little baby pony, and began saying ridiculous things like "cootchie cootchie coo."

"Can we keep her, Firefly?" Cotton Candy asked when she was done.

"I don't know," Firefly said. "I'm sure this baby pony belongs somewhere."

"Yeah, here with us," Bubbles said.

Firefly thought it over. This baby pony was so cute and sweet, and she did have the biggest blue eyes Firefly had ever seen in her life, so she agreed. The other little ponies cheered.

"Well, what are we going to call her?" Firefly asked.

"How about Snugglebunny?" Cotton Candy said, and she began nuzzling the little baby pony all over again. "Cause she's just a wittle snugglebunny! Yes she is!"

"Bleeeccchhh," Applejack groaned.

"I agree with Applejack," Medley said. "She should have a more sophisticated name, like Melody."

"Isn't that a little close _your_ name, Med?" Firefly asked.

"I happen to like the name Melody," Medley said.

"No, Melody's out," Bowtie said. "How about Ribbon?"

"How about not?" Glory said. "We should name her Liberty!"

"Liberty?" Moondancer asked. "That's not a name! Now Starlight! That's a name."

"No, Applesauce!" Applejack shouted. "Let's name her Applesauce!"

"No!" Firefly shouted. "Look, we found her right after a thunderstorm, with lightning. So let's call her Lightning!"

Everyone looked at Firefly, and then at the two Lightning bolts on her rump, and then back at the pink Pegasus.

"Ah heh, heh, heh," Firefly said, blushing slightly. "Maybe not."

"Mud Pie!" Bubbles shouted, suddenly.

"Mud Pie?" everyone asked at once.

"No, no, no!" Twilight shouted. "Look, we found her during a forest fire, right?"

"You want to name her Forest Fire?" Cotton Candy asked, confused.

"No!" Twilight shouted. "I think we should call her Ember."

"Ember?" Firefly repeated. "Ember. I like that."

"Yeah, so do I," Applejack said.

The other little ponies agreed. Twilight smiled and looked down at the baby pony.

"Well, little one, do you like your new name?" she asked.

Ember nodded, and nuzzled Twilight again.

"Mama," she said.

"No," Twilight giggled. "My name is Twilight. I'm not your mama. But I promise I'll be your friend. And I'll never let anything happen to you."

Twilight picked up the basket, and carried it into Dream Castle. She wanted to get Ember settled for the night.

Since Ember was a newborn baby pony, she only slept for about two hours, before she woke up crying. Crying? More like shrieking. Twilight staggered into the room of the castle, set aside just for the Baby Pony. She began rocking the newborn back and forth in her little cradle and began to sing.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," she sang. "Twilight's gonna buy you a mocking bird. And if that mocking bird don't sing, Twilight's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turn brass, Twilight's gonna buy you a looking glass. And if that looking glass gets broke, Twilight's gonna buy you a billy goat. And if that billy goat won't pull, Twilight's gonna buy you a cart and bull. And if that cart and bull turn over, Twilight's gonna buy you a dog named Rover. And if that dog named Rover won't bark, Twilight's gonna buy you a horse and cart. And if that horse and cart fall down, you'll still be the sweetest baby pony in town."

Twilight looked down into the cradle, and saw that Ember had fallen asleep. The pink unicorn breathed of relief and started out the door, when she met Cotton Candy.

"After all that stuff you're gonna buy her," she said. "She'll be the sweetest baby pony in town, and you'll be the brokest baby pony in town."

"Very funny," Twilight said, sarcastically.

"Ohh, there's my wittle snugglebunny!" Cotton Candy gushed, running over to the cradle. "She's so cute! She looks just like a little angel when she sleeps! Yes she does!"

"Cotton Candy, I just got her to sleep," Twilight warned. "You might . . . . ."

"WAAAAHHHHH!" Ember cried, waking up, and she didn't appear to have enjoyed her rude awakening.

"Wake her up," Twilight groaned. She had no other choice but to take Ember out of her cradle, and cradle her in her hooves. She sang "Hush Little Baby" to her again, and Cotton Candy left the room to get Ember her bottle.

Once Twilight gave Ember her bottle, she relaxed. She liked Twilight a lot.

"Mama!" she squeaked.

"Twilight," Twilight corrected. "You'll learn. You'll learn someday, little one. Now it's time for nighty-night. Time to go sleepy-bye now. Yes it is. Yes."

Ember yawned. Some nice, warm milk usually did wonders for this sort of situation. Twilight put the baby pony back into her cradle, and tiptoed out of the room, quietly. Not until she heard someone trip over something in the room and hit the floor.

CRASH!

"WAAAAAHHHHH!" Ember shrieked, waking up.

"Applejack!" Twilight groaned. "What are you trying to do? Wake up the whole castle?!"

"Sorry," Applejack said, sheepishly. "I got up for a midnight snack of apple pie, and I wanted to see the baby. I tripped over the rattle Firefly gave her."

"WAAAHHHHH!" Ember cried.

"Go back to bed, Applejack," Twilight said. "I'll take care of Ember."

Applejack nodded, and slunk out of the room. Twilight sighed, and began rocking Ember's cradle back and forth, singing "Hush Little Baby" over and over again until Ember fell asleep. Unfortunately, "Hush Little Baby" was the only lullaby Twilight knew. Ember didn't get back to sleep until four in the morning.

It wasn't a very good morning for the little ponies. Firefly was flying into the walls. Applejack fell asleep in her applesauce. Bowtie's ribbons were disheveled. Twilight's mane was sticking up all over the place. All of the little ponies looked dead tired.

"How did everyone sleep?" Medley asked.

"Hrrrmmmphh mummmphhh snlerrrrggghh," Applejack grumbled.

"What'd she say?" Moondancer asked.

"Beats me," Bowtie said with a yawn. "Her face is in her breakfast."

"Harrllllphhh," Applejack responded.

The Little Ponies stared at her and then sighed. Twilight began to prepare a bottle for Ember. She had a feeling she was going to wake up wanting one any minute. Sure enough, she was right.

"MAMA!" Ember screamed from the nursery.

"Coming!" Twilight called. "I'll be there in a minute!"

Twilight took Ember's bottle and ran into the nursery. Ember smiled and reached her little hooves at Twilight.

"Mama!" she squealed happily.

"Twilight, little one," Twilight said, gently. She would get this baby pony to call her Twilight if it killed her. But she was always going to be patient with the little baby pony. After all, she was just a newborn baby pony.

That was basically how it was every morning and night for the next few days. After awhile, Ember slept through the night. She took her afternoon nap without any problems, too. But there were times where she woke up, and she wanted Twilight, but she wasn't there. Then it was up to one of the other ponies to calm her down.

"WAAAAAHHHHHH!" she cried one morning.

Applejack, Cotton Candy, and Firefly raced into the room. Cotton Candy tried to rock Ember in her cradle, but she just continued to cry,

"Hey look at this!" Applejack said. She rolled her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and swayed her front legs back and forth.

"WAAAAAHHHHHH!" Ember cried.

"Look at me, Ember!" Cotton Candy shouted. She stuck her front hooves in her mouth, and pulled. She stuck out her tongue, waved it around, and made silly noises.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!" Ember cried.

"Look at this, Ember!" Firefly shouted, and she began flying around the nursery upside down with a big, goofy grin plastered to her face.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!" Ember cried.

The three ponies did all their goofy antics at once. They were making funny faces, silly noises, doing all kinds of tricks. Cotton Candy even picked up a toy mallet and bonked Applejack over the head with it. Ember usually got a big kick out of Applejack and her mishaps, including when Firefly crashes into her apple baskets, but this time, she just wailed.

"I'm gonna go find Twilight," Firefly said. "She's the only one who can get Ember to stop crying."

Applejack and Cotton Candy nodded, and continued to make silly faces and silly noises. Ember was still wailing like a fire truck. Luckily, Firefly returned shortly with Twilight. The pink unicorn cradled Ember in her hooves and began rocking her.

"What's the matter, little one?" she asked. "Did you have a bad dream? Did something wake you up?"

Twilight managed to put Ember over her shoulder blade, and she began patting her back with her hoof. Then she got a good look at Applejack and Cotton Candy, who were still making goony faces.

"You know your faces will freeze that way," she said, giving them a strange look.

Applejack and Cotton Candy smiled sheepishly, and laughed. They cleared their throats and looked in every direction except at Twilight. Twilight shook her head, and continued to pat Ember's back.

"Burp," Ember said. Then she sighed, and closed her eyes.

"That's my girl!" Cotton Candy said, proudly.

"You're disgusting, Cotton Candy," Firefly said, rolling her eyes.

Cotton Candy shrugged, and she and Applejack left the room. Twilight put Ember back in her cradle, and sang her to sleep. Then she quietly left the nursery.

Things were looking good at Dream Castle. Ember learned how to walk and run and jump and play. Her vocabulary hadn't grown much, but she was still a sweetie. She loved all the little ponies, but it was Twilight that she loved the best. The pink unicorn was like her mother, and Twilight treated the baby pony as if she were her own daughter.

One day, Ember was chasing a butterfly that landed on her nose. Twilight followed, to make sure she didn't get hurt, or didn't get lost. Firefly and Medley were taking a flight in the sky when they ran into someone. Literally. The three flying objects crashed to the ground. Firefly and Medley looked, and they realized they had just crashed into a stork!

"Is this Ponyland?" he asked.

"Yes it is," Firefly said. "Why do you ask?"

"And who are you?" Medley asked.

"I'm the president of Stork Inc," the stork said. "And I am here because a baby pony was dropped awhile back by mistake."

"That's ridiculous!" Medley shouted.

"Yeah, who drops a baby pony by mistake?" Firefly asked.

"Stork Number Six-Seven-Eight-Nine," President Stork said. "He tends to take one too many toasts to new babies, if you know what I mean."

"Well, that explains what Ember was doing in the fire," Firefly commented.

"I'm going to have to take the baby back and give her to her rightful family," President Stork said.

"Over my dead body!" Firefly shouted.

"Firefly!" Medley scolded.

"Forget it, Medley!' Firefly yelled. Then she turned to President Stork. "You're not gonna take Ember from us! She's ours!"

"I'm afraid you ponies have no choice," President Stork said. "It's against Stork Inc. policy to let a baby of any kind live with a family in which it is not intended to be with. I'm sorry, but those are the rules."

Firefly and Medley looked at each other. They didn't have any choice. They flew into the air, and went to look for Twilight. They came to President Stork with Twilight and Ember in tow. All the little ponies gathered around to see what was going on. Firefly explained everything.

"What?!" Cotton Candy shouted.

"They can't do that!" Applejack yelled.

"I'm afraid they can," Medley said, sadly.

So Ember was bundled up, and given to President Stork. All the little ponies came to say their goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Ember," Bowtie said, nuzzling the baby pony. "I hope you like where you're going."

"Bye-bye Ember," Applejack said. Then she looked at President Stork, and gave him a fierce glare. "You . . . . . you . . . . . you great big doo-doo head!"

Applejack ran off after that. Bubbles, Medley, Glory, and Moondancer just nuzzled Ember as they said goodbye. Cotton Candy was practically bawling.

"Goodbye, you little snugglebunny," she said. Then she sniffled. "I can't stand it! It's breaking my heart! WAAAAHHHH-HAAAA-HAAAAA-HAAAAAHHHHH!"

Cotton Candy ran from the scene in tears. She just couldn't stand this. Twilight was a little misty-eyed herself. She nuzzled Ember and gave her a kiss.

"Be good, little one," she said. "We love you all very much."

And with that, President Stork flew into the air. Ember looked down at her friends, and cried her little heart out. Twilight felt her heart break into a million pieces, and she ran into the castle. The other little ponies followed.

Firefly wasn't going to take this lying down. She whistled for the ponies' puppy, Brandy, who was a very well-versed dog, and gave him a pen and some paper.

"Dear Stork Inc," she said. Brandy put on a pair of glasses and began to write as Firefly dictated.

"I am writing in regards to a baby pony that my friends and I found during a forest fire," Firefly continued. "Because of the carelessness of Stork Number Six-Seven-Eight-Nine, who was drunk . . . . ."

Brandy barked, and shook his head. Firefly then began to think of another word she could use.

"Inebriated at the time of his flight," Firefly continued. Brandy barked his approval and continued to write.

"The baby pony in question was dropped right in the middle of the forest fire," Firefly went on. "My friend, Medley, and I found the baby pony, and she took a liking to us right away. No one can give that sweet baby pony a better home than us. She loves us, and we love her. Sincerely, Firefly."

Brandy barked, stuck the letter in an envelope, stuck a stamp on the envelope, and carried the letter to the waterfall. The little ponies' duck friend, Duck Soup, quacked, took the letter, and flew it to Stork Inc.

Two weeks went by. Firefly hadn't heard from Stork Inc in that time. One morning, Twilight was running in the fields of Dream Valley when she ran across a basket.

"Oh no, not again," she groaned. "Might as well see what we've got in here."

Twilight removed the blankets from the basket, and a purple baby pony with pink hair popped out and smiled at Twilight.

"Mama!" she squeaked.

Twilight broke into a smile. She knew her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She picked up the basket, and ran to Dream Castle.

"Everybody!" she shouted. "Look!"

"It's Ember!" Applejack shouted.

"My little snugglebunny's come home!" Cotton Candy cried out, joyfully.

"Look, here's a note," Firefly said. "Dear Firefly, due to your letter, and circumstances regarding the baby pony (mostly that she won't stop crying with her intended parents) we have reached an understatement that she will live in Dream Valley with the Little Ponies forever and ever. Signed, the President of Stork Inc."

"We got her!" Twilight cheered. "We got her forever!"

The other little ponies cheered in delight.

A few years went by. Firefly and Medley were flying around, laughing. They slid down a rainbow into a water fall. All the little ponies ran out of Dream Castle, ready to play. Ember watched Firefly and Medley fly around, and decided to try it, too. She jumped into the air, but landed in the river, where Bubbles was washing her hair. The yellow Earth pony ended up soaked. Ember just giggled.

Bowtie and Moondancer were running to a cliff, and the two of them jumped off of it. Twilight approached it, but was a little hesitant about jumping. As she was contemplating a way, down, Glory came skating right behind her.

"Look out, Twilight!" she shouted, as she jumped over the pink unicorn. "Here I goooooo!"

Bowtie dodged Glory before she landed. Glory had nearly landed on top of her!

"Now it's my turn!" Ember shouted, and she jumped right off Twilight's head. BONK! She nearly hit the ground when Firefly caught her.

"Awww!" Ember shouted, disappointed. "I could've made it!"

"I wish! I wish! I wish!" Twilight shouted, and she disappeared off the cliff, and reappeared right behind Bowtie.

Firefly and Medley were flying along, and Ember was running beside them.

"I'm goin' for the double inside out loop!" Firefly shouted.

"But it's dangerous, Firefly!" Medley warned.

"Danger is my life, Medley!" Firefly shouted.

"Firefly! Look out!" Medley shouted.

Firefly plowed right into her, sending her into a dizzying spin. Twilight's and Ember's hair and tails blew along with Firefly's gust of wind. Unfortunately, Firefly was heading right for Applejack, and a big basket of apples, and she couldn't move away in time.

CRASH!

Medley, Twilight, and Ember were practically rolling on the ground laughing. Firefly had the basket on her head, and both she and Applejack were covered with applesauce.

"Applesauce anyone?" Applejack asked.

Firefly looked at Medley sheepishly. Medley flew over and took the basket off Firefly's head. Glory and Moondancer came up to Applejack to see if everything was all right. Applejack shook the applesauce off her, and sprayed Glory with it. Then Applejack proceeded to lick it off.

Later, all the little ponies were taking it easy, and Ember was cuddling up next to Twilight. The two of them watched a butterfly flutter past.

"Twilight," Ember said. "Will I ever fly like Firefly and Medley?"

"No Ember," Twilight laughed gently. "Not all little ponies can fly."

"Will I jump far like Bowtie? Or disappear like you can?"

"Ember, you'll grow up to be your own special little pony."

Twilight nuzzled Ember. That was one of the happiest mornings of her life.

Twilight sighed, and came back into reality. There was no need to finish that part of the story. Ember already knew how it turned out.

"I like living here, Twilight," she said. "It's great."

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Ponyland's the best place there is. Come on. I'll race you to Paradise Estate!"

"Okay!"

Ember and Twilight got up, and ran for the Estate. And, as usual, everything was as it should be.

The End


End file.
